SWOT
SWOT is one of the simplest and most practical analytical tools if you are planning (or evaluating) a project.
SWOT analysis is one of the most straightforward and practical analytical tools for planning (or evaluating) a project. It is a quick, simple, straightforward and functional method. From a practical point of view, it is essential that it is used to prepare any project, and almost all companies and institutions use it. This form of analysis was described and constructed by Albert Humphrey in the 1960s and 1970s at Stanford University and has since become a truly essential tool for every manager. As analytical thinking has grown in importance, so too has its relevance.
It is, therefore, a method that, on the one hand, is closer to critical thinking than to creativity, but at the same time, creative ways can be well applied to individual parts or questions of the SWOT. The whole analysis can even be worked out in the form of a mind map, with the personal letters representing the fundamental branches of the map. The advantage of such a solution is greater clarity and easier linking of the different parts.
SWOT analysis is a method that describes strengths (Strengths) and weaknesses (Weaknesses), opportunities (Opportunities) and threats (Threats). The first pair deals with the internal aspects of the project or the activity under study, and the second pair describes external influences that are not affected by the behaviour of the project implementers but must be taken into account.
- Create a square and divide it into quarters so that you have four squares side by side. You describe the top two as S and W and the bottom as O and T.
- Write everything you can think of related to these characteristics in each field. Especially for beginners, you need to explain the difference between internal and external phenomena.
- Create four partial strategies based on the matrix:
S-O: Strengths and opportunities create a favourable, optimistic growth scenario. They describe what must be done for the project to fulfil its potential.
W-O: Weaknesses and Opportunities describe the processes and actions leading to the progressive elimination of weaknesses.
S-T: This strategy describes how the impact of threats can be minimised by using strengths.
W-T: a defensive strategy that describes how threats that affect weaknesses can be eliminated. This ypically includes avoidable parts of the project or compensatory strategies.
- Create a comprehensive plan for how to proceed with the project, and you can start implementing it.
There are a few comments on the practical implementation:
- There is no optimal time for creating a SWOT analysis, but we recommend proceeding as quickly as possible, especially for smaller or school projects. Strategies can then take more time to develop.
- If the analysis shows that the project is associated with too many risks and weaknesses, it can be abandoned or transformed. In this case, it is usually not necessary to make strategic plans.
- SWOT analysis is only a functional method when it clearly defines what it addresses - the more precise the brief or idea, the better it is possible to identify and describe the different areas.
- The idea is to work alone or in a team of up to five people.
- The ideal is to proceed from top to bottom and left to right, i.e. in SWOT order.
The method leads one to systematically analyze the project one wants to work on and assess it from all relevant angles. It is the rational calculation of the various perspectives that is vital in itself but also essential for analytical complexity-oriented thinking. For example, colour depth leads to the ability to look at a problem from different sides, analyze it and work with it creatively.
SWOT analysis can be used for many activities - from choosing the field you want to study to selecting the topic of your term paper to starting a business. The important thing is not to stay in the "picture" with a description of each area but to try to extract from it specific actions, activities or strategies that will lead to being able to manage the project or task better in every way, whatever that means to you.
